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Ballast Point Sculpin IPA Review

David Jensen — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 06:00:17 +0000

Sculpin IPA is a delicious IPA where dominated by citrusy hops yet with an expertly crafted balance of sweetness and bitterness. Sculpin IPA comes out of San Diego, CA from Ballast Point Brewing Company. Ballast Point was founded in 1996 after two home brewers, Jack White and Yuseff, built a brewery in the back of a the homebrew shop that White had opened 4 years prior.

In the years since opening, Ballast Point grew their reputation of producing well crafted and delicious beer. It was exciting to finally find their top notch beer available in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially Sculpin IPA, which won a Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup in 2010 for International Pale Ale.

Although Ballast Point produces a wonderful line of craft beer Sculpin IPA and Calico Amber are consistently beers that I seek out and clear off the shelves whenever I see them available.

Date Reviewed. June 14, 2011

Where I Found It. La Beau Nob Hill Market, San Francisco, CA

Serving Type. 22oz. bottle to nonick pint glass

Appearance. Although it started to pour crystal clear, the agitation of pouring must have loosened some sediment and it eventually poured as hazy glowing golden orange color. The head is slightly off white with good retention with a thick foamy texture. It leaves a nice thin lacing on the sides of the glass.

Aroma. Sculpin IPA has wonderful floral hop notes with a strong bouquet of citrus-like sweet oranges, ruby red grapefruit, and a touch of pine. It has a malty-sweet aroma, which is almost biscuit-like in nature. The sweet citrus hops combined with this malt aromas almost reminds me of a slightly melted gourmet creamsicle, made of orange sorbet and creamy vanilla ice cream.

Taste. This is an excellent tasting IPA with just the perfect balance of sweetness and hop bitterness. This is certainly not a dry IPA and I might go so far as to describe it as just a little sweet but not overly so. The effect of the sweetness is enhanced by the floral and citrus aromas that you experience while drinking it. The bitterness is slightly harsh but not quite as prickly as a sculpin fish. The bitterness and builds on your palette over time but is cooled by the sweet malt flavors.

Mouthfeel. It is a full-bodied beer with a smooth and a nearly velvety texture that helps contrast and cool against the ever building bitterness accumulating on your palette.. The carbonation is just the right level.

Overall. Starting with the pour and the light color, this beer is inviting you to quaff it down. As you bring it close to you mouth, the aromas from Sculpin IPA get you salvating until you taste this wonderful IPA. The sweetness and the bitterness combine into a wondeful experience. I wouldn’t consider this a dessert beer by any means but I also would not characterize it as a crisp and refreshing beer. It is a slightly-sweet very-hoppy IPA. As you can see by my rating the high point is the wonderful aromas, which Ballast Point has mastered in so many of their beers. The taste does not disappoint but the aroma is incredible.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

Appearance (6%): 4.0
Aroma (24%): 5.0
Taste (40%): 4.5
Mouthfeel (10%): 5.0
Overal (20%): 4.5
Total: 4.64

Information

Style: American IPA
Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company [more info]
Alcohol by volume: 7%
Bitterness: 70 IBU

Other Reviews

Other Reviews of Sculpin IPA

Guest Beer Review: Sculpin IPA – By Bernardo Pena | BarleyPop – A Beer Blog

Gotta love having friends that are as passionate about beer as much as I am. Mr. Bernardo Pena, close friend of 20+ years has been sending me tons of texts about all the beers he’s been trying in LA and abroad the past few years.

Sculpin IPA | Mike Loves Beer

Name – Sculpin IPACountry – United StatesType – American IPA A little over a week ago I did my first video review for Ballast Point’s Big Eye IPA. And during I said that a review would be coming soon the IPA brother in the Ballast Point household, Sculpin.

The Barley Blog » Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

California’s Ballast Point Brewing makes an IPA that, when I can find it, is a favorite of the household here on the East coast. My wife and I have enjoyed the piny, hoppy Big Eye IPA on several occasions through the years.

Cleveland Food and Brews-CraftBeer: Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

Here is what the Brewer says: The Sculpin is a testament to our humble beginnings as Home Brew Mart. It showcases bright flavors and aromas of apricot, peach, mango & lemon. The lighter body also brings out the crispness of the hops.

Awards & Accolades

Ballast Point Sculpin IPA – Voted Best IPA! | thefullpint.com

We had a close race for our Best IPA poll. With so many tasty, hoppy dank IPAs to choose from, San Diego’s Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits Sculpin IPA came out on top as the Best IPA. While there was nothing in the rules discouraging disproportionate voting, this poll was pretty even Steven as far as online polls go.

Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale Review

David Jensen — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Ballast Point Brewing Company is one of the several excellent breweries that are located in the San Diego area, who take their name from an area of San Diego. The Calico Amber Ale is an award winning American Amber Ale, including a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2001. The brewery states that this beer was inspired by the beers of England know as bitters and closely related to an ESB but brewed with American ingredients. Ballast Point describes this beer as follows:

The blend of crystal malts give it flavors including toffee and caramel. A blend of American Cascade and Centennial hops provide a counterpoint to the malt. Finally our proprietary yeast provides a fruity background and a Madeira like richness that rounds out this gold medal winning ale.

Immediately upon opening and pouring this beer you will indeed experience the richness of Calico Amber’s aroma.

Where I Found It. BevMo in La Quinta, CA.

Serving Type. 22 oz. bottle.

Appearance. The head of Calico Amber Ale is cappuccino colored and very frothy. The head stayed at an inch or more for an average amount of time but appears to keep a few millimeters of head indefinitely. This beer is crystal clear with a very appealing color. It has a deep red amber color but is not opaque. In fact, it is about as transparent as you can get and still have such a bold dark-red color.

Smell. The hop bouquet is faint can be described as a little spicy and a little coppery. The malt aroma is almost unmatched by any beer that I’ve had so far. It has a strong fresh roasted barley malt smell to it. It smells as if I had just opened the bin of crystal malt at the homebrew shop. It has a bit of brown sugar sweetness too but not like a barleywine. It also smells like boiling wort just before adding the hops.

Taste. Although the taste of Calico Amber Ale beer is very good, the taste is slightly overshadowed by the appearance and the aroma. Don’t get me wrong the flavor is excellent but it is just not as awesome as the appearance and smell. The flavor is sweet roasted barley malts and almost like the flavor of boiling or unfermented wort. The hops give the beer a hint of copper flavor as well as a bit of spice. There is also the flavor of honey present. This beer is clearly more malty than hoppy but the hops are there to give some balance.

Mouthfeel. This is a medium bodied beer with just the right amount of carbonation. It leaves no hop bitterness on the tongue but does leave a nice sweetness of the malts in the aftertaste .

Drinkability. This is a wonderful beer with a complexity of malt flavors that make it easy to enjoy. The sweetness of the malt makes it smooth.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

Appearance (20%): 5.0
Smell (20%): 5.0
Taste (40%): 4.0
Mouthfeel (10%): 4.0
Drinkability (10%): 4.0
Overall: 4.4

Information

Style: American amber ale
Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company [more info]
Alcohol by volume: 5.0%
Hops: Cascade and Centennial
Malt: a blend of crystal malts
Beer Advocate rating: 3.96 (as of July 22, 2009)

Caption from the Bottle

The following caption is found on the side of the bottle:

Calico Amber Ale won the distinction of being judged “one of the best beers in the world” by winning the 2002 World Beer Cup Gold Medal in the American Amber Ale category. At the 2001 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado, Calico Amber Ale won the Gold Medal as the “Best Amber Ale in America”. Full-bodied and aromatic, this California style amber ale is a careful blend of four hops which provides a delicate spice flavor and perfectly balanced finish.

Get the Point!